Inflation rate in Cyprus eases to 6.7%
Inflation in Cyprus dropped for the seventh consecutive month to reach 6.7% in February. This is a significant decrease from the peak of 10.6% recorded in July 2022.
The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HCIP) for February read 111.23 points, a decrease of 0.8% compared to January. For the period of January-February 2023, the HICP increased by 6.8% compared to the same period in the previous year.
The categories with the largest increases were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, with an 18.8% increase, and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, with a 9.5% hike. In contrast, communication marked an annual reduction of 3.3%.
Meanwhile, the hourly labor cost in Cyprus increased by 3.8% annually in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
According to provisional data issued by the Statistical Service of Cyprus (CyStat), the two main components of labor cost, wages and salaries per hour worked, and non-wage costs per hour worked, increased by 3.7% and 4.1%, respectively. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the hourly labor cost increased by 0.6% compared to the previous quarter.
